I have to be honest with you..

I hate the phrase "use your words.", it makes me want to vomit.

Maybe I've just heard it too often. Maybe it's the farm girl in me who grew up pretty rough and tough! All that being said, it was the first phrase that sprang to mind when I was thinking about today's topic.

Here's the thing.. every dance teacher marking an exercise knows that they need to count! You know that it's important that your exercise is in phrases of 8 counts (at least the average exercises). So...

Slow Duple Meter for Plies?! Why? How?

20 years ago, when I began to play for ballet as a young innocent, still wet behind the ears from getting my degree in performing arts, I found the art of accompanying ballet and understanding how music was relevant to the movement, absolutely mind numbing.

There were tons and tons of movements and piles and piles of music! Slowly certain movements and music began to click and make sense. Certain parts of a ballet class became a comfort zone for me..a happy place...

Music: an Integral Part of a Dancer's Life

For years as a dance student, you listened to music; you heard it, you felt it, and you danced to it. Now, you’re a teacher and you'd like to use it but you’re unsure/uncertain/scared about the counts vs the beats that musicians use.

Let me jump in here!

Triple Meter

Dancer Counts

Dancer counts are based on the feeling of the pulse in the music, or the accent, depending on how strong the music is! If a piece of music has a lot of notes, then...